Wages Of Sin
by GoodbyeMyAlmostLover
Summary: I was once a 'daughter', a 'sister', a 'friend', a 'lover'...all before becoming a Marine officer. I have been sent to England 28 weeks after the great infection. Chaos soon bleeds through the city again. Can I survive along with the others? Doyle/OC
1. Officer Van Brennan

**[-|****Wages Of Sin****-]**

**Full Name:** Vanora Maeve Brennan

**DOB: **2/21/83

**Sign:** Pieces – intuition, self-sacrifice

**Age:** 24

**Ethnicity:** Caucasian

**Nationality:** American

**Height:** 5'7

**Weight:** 136

**Body Build:** Athletic

**Education:** College Graduate; Bachelors Degree

**Occupation:** Marine

**Rank:** Officer

**Hair:** Pale Golden Blonde

**Eyes:** Moonlight

**Distinguishing Marks: **Two tattoos; Pisces on her left wrist and Blue Heart Wing on the outer side of her right upper thigh

* * *

The links to the pictures of the tattoos are on my account page if you'd like to see what they look like.


	2. And You Just Let Him Go?

**[**-Wages Of Sin-**]**

I could hear the heavy boots clank against the marble floors of the military base as officers, marines, and generals scurried through the halls. The entire base was in an uproar from being given the green light. I recognized several generals standing in the hall speaking to one another in a small circle, each heated in the conversation. I slowly walked up, careful not to get into the way of any of the fretful marines running through the halls.

"General Riordan? May I have a word?" I asked the tallest of the generals with black hair, tapping him on the shoulder lightly. He turned around to face me, his usually electrifying blue eyes duller and downtrodden. "What's going on?"

"It's the 'code red' I was talking to you about yesterday." He pulled me aside from the others, whispering to me in-between taking glances to see who was listening in. "The infection over in England...they say it's gone and their beginning to send people over there again to live, but they still want soldiers to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"But the virus could still be airborne or even in the animals still alive over there. They can't be sure that it's 'disappeared' for good." I shook my head, thinking that allowing people back into England was a tragedy waiting to happen. I looked up into the general's eyes and spotted a familiar look. I gave a small nervous laugh, shaking my head back and forth at him. He quickly grabbed a hold of my left arm and dragged me into an empty office nearby.

"V, I had no choice." Kayne started once the door was shut and locked behind us. I walked in further and then snapped around at him. "Please-"

"No! No way! It's not going to happen, Kayne." I yelled, beginning to pace back and forth. Kayne sighed and walked over to me, stopping my pacing. "I can't believe this...!"

"We already decided who was going to go over months ago. You're the most qualified for this. You're one of the ranking Officers." Kayne placed a hand on my shoulder giving it a gently squeeze to comfort me in his own way.

"I became an officer to watch over my brother. I can't go over there Kayne. I have to watch him otherwise he'll get himself killed." I shook my head again and felt Kayne's hand slip slowly from my shoulder. I pursed my lips and rubbed the bridge of my nose, knowing what he was going to say next, but beat him to it with a sigh of aggravation. "He's over there already, isn't he?"

"Uh...yeah, he kind of left this morning..." Kayne breathed out slowly, walking on eggshells around me. I groaned and looked back up at him.

"And you let him go!?!" I yelled punching Kayne on the arm. Kayne's opposite hand swung up to grab where I had hit him. "Why would you let him go!?! He's going to get himself hurt or worse; killed!"

"He wanted to go so I let him!" Kayne yelled back, rubbing his arm. I stopped my pacing again and stared at him for a moment. "He's not **my** brother."

"You're right he's not your brother, but he might as well be. We all have known each other since we were little kids! Our father's served together for Christ's sake!" I huffed, trying to calm myself down. "You could have at least warned me he was leaving..."

I took to sitting down in a nearby chair, putting my face in the palms of my hands. I heard Kayne's footsteps as they got closer to me. He kneeled down next to me, laying a hand on my knee.

"The last couple of years have been hard on you; I know that better than most." I gave a small sigh at his words and looked up from my hands. A small smirk filtered onto his face. "I also know that trying to keep up with your brother is a real chore."

"That's for sure." I gave a small laugh and leaned against one of my arms. Kayne gave my knee a gentle squeeze, causing me to look over at him.

"And I also know that you love your brother more than anything, Van. That's why **I** voted for you to go over to England." I looked at Kayne confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked, pushing away from my arm to sit up straight.

"Shawn told me a couple weeks ago not to let you go because he thought you were smothering him a little bit. He said something about you needing to let him live a little." Kayne gave a small sighed, taping his fingers against my leg. "But I knew if I didn't let you go, you'd find your own way over there. To be honest that scared me more than just sending you."

"Thanks..." I scoffed, standing up from the chair and moved away from Kayne. I cursed a couple of times at my brother who was over in England and then turned to look at Kayne again. "When's the next chopper leaving?"

"In an hour or so." Kayne stood up from kneeling and looked at her. "Are you going to be on it?"

"No shit Sherlock." I gave a sarcastic smile, laughing as I turned away to look down at the floor. I sighed, bringing my hands to my hips. "I hate my older brother..."

"No you don't, you're just really pissed at him." Kayne laughed placing a hand on my shoulder, leading me out of the office. I laughed and nodded my head, agreeing with him.

"I'm going to need a couple of things before I go, though." I looked up at him to see him nod his head like he knew that was coming.

"I know you would. What 'things' do you need?" He asked, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen to jot them down. I stopped and leaned against a window, thinking about it for a second.

"A pair of MV321G night vision goggles, Wiley-X INK glasses, a Black Timber hunting pack in the color black, thigh rigs, waist rigs, a chest rig," I looked over at Kayne a smirk on my face, seeing him trying to keep up with my list, "flashlights, several Black OPS serrated assisted opening knives, two RSR-LMXUNI handguns, two SW1911 pistols-"

"It sounds like you're going over there into a never ending war!" Kayne blurted, snapping his head from the paper to me. I gave a smile and pointed to the paper and pen.

"You want me to go right? Legally I mean. Then let me have my weapons of choice." I gave another smile and looked out the window. Kayne groaned and finished writing the things I had said down.

"Anything else you damn mercenary?" Kayne growled, tapping the pen to the paper.

"A couple hand grenades, several flash grenades, a Rock River Arms: Varmint A4, two Mossberg 590s, and a Remington 870MCS. Oh, also a lot of extra ammo." I gave a laugh at the end of it, knowing it was a lot to ask for. Kayne gave a sigh and looked up from the list, shaking his head at me. I shrugged and looked back out the window. "I'd rather have them and not need them, then need them and not have them."

"Nothing is going to happen. How many times do I need to say this? It's just a routine screening Van." Kayne put the list into his pocket and stared down at me smiling. I shook my head, biting on my bottom lip.

"Then how come I this sick feeling in my heart?" I looked back at him and watched as he tried to give me and answer. He shook his head and then pulled me into a hug.

"Your supplies will be in England waiting for you when you get there." He pulled away, but kept his hand on my upper arms. "Take care of your brother and try not to worry so much, will you?"

"I promise that I will take care of my brother, but the worrying...Well that's just in my genes." I laughed as his hands dropped from my arms.

"Be at the north launch pad at two." Kayne laughed back giving me another hug before walking away down the hall. I looked back out the window and watched as the other marines, officers, and generals scurried around, getting ready to leave for England.


	3. Flynn and Doyle: The Dynamic Duo

**[**-Wages Of Sin-**]**

* * *

I had gotten to the north launch pad early wearing a pair of black cargo pants, a grey long and lean tank, and a pair of tan boots. I threw in my black Timber hunting pack, filled to the brim, into the backseat of the chopper.

"Where are those-" I spotted the chest, hip, and thigh rigs on the seat of the chopper and began to put them on. I made sure they were tight enough so if I had to run they wouldn't fall off. I then picked up the two handguns and put them into the thigh rigs and then placed the two pistols on the hip rig. I looked to my left, into the chopper, and tried to find the two Mossberg 590s Kayne had promised I'd have.

"That sure is a lot of guns for only one woman." My head shot up from searching and my right hand instantly shot to the gun on my right side, tearing it out form the rig to point it at the smirking pilot. I took a deep breath seeing it was nothing to worry about and then lowered my gun, placing it back into the rig. "Sorry to scare ya."

"No don't be. I'm just a little jumpy." I smiled and nodded my head, taking a few more breaths to calm my heart.

"Just a little...?" The pilot gave a snort of a laugh and threw the rucksack he had been carrying into the chopper. I watched him as he did so and waited till he turned back to look at me. "So who are you anyway?"

"I'm Officer Brennan." I outstretched my hand to the man, the smile never leaving my lips.

"Brennan?" He looked me over for a moment and then smiled himself. "You don't look like a man to me."

"Uh..." I gave a small laugh, never hearing anyone ask me such a question before. I gave a nod and sighed. "Well it's my last name, Vanora Brennan."

"I see. Colton Flynn," He gave a laugh of his own and took my hand, shaking it, "but everyone just calls me Flynn."

"V or Van for me. Men don't usually like knowing their commanding officer is a woman until it's too late." I took my hand back, my smile bright because of liking the man before me.

"I don't mind a woman one bit as my commanding officer." Flynn nodded his head and placed his hands on his hips, looking to his right at some soldiers run by carrying boxes in their arms.

"_Thanks Flynn_..." I took a look around the base seeing the familiar soldiers scurry around. A frightened feeling tugged at my heart, trying to warn me of something heading our way.

"Shall we get going then? If you're ready I mean." Flynn looked back at me, letting his hands drop as he leaned into the chopper and pulled his headset from his seat. My head snapped back to him again and I nodded, a fake smile coming to my lips.

"Yeah, I think so." I looked back up at him and spotted Kayne in one of the windows of the base, staring out at me and nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Riding up front or in back?" Flynn asked as he began pulling himself into the chopper. I thought it over for a moment and then walked over to the passenger side. "Up front."

"I'd like to see exactly what's going on in front of us." I gave a small laugh, strapping myself to the seat.

"Afraid I can't fly?" Flynn laughed, flipping switches and pressing buttons. I shook my head, that not being the reason at all.

"No...I just never liked flying because I'm not in control of the course." I looked over at Flynn and laughed, seeing his face. He shook his head giving a small sigh as a grin spread across his lips. I gave him a scoff and looked out the open side of the chopper as we began to rise into the sky. It stayed quiet for a while in the chopper between Flynn and me. We both enjoyed the little bit of relaxation before the stress over in England that we were heading for.

"So," Flynn started, pulling my attention back to him from staring out at the ocean beneath us. I stuttered for a moment and then nodded my head. ", aren't the officers supposed to be shipping out in four days!?"

"They are, but I just need to get over there a little earlier!" I called back over the loud sound of the chopper's wings. Flynn gave a small nod and turned to look at me for a brief moment.

"Any specific reason!?" Flynn scanned my face, knowing there was something up with my reason and then looked back out the front window of the chopper.

"My brother!" I scoffed, thinking about what I was going to do about him when I finally got to England.

"Ahhh! Siblings! Gotcha!" Flynn laughed, flipping a couple of switches on the dash. "I have two sisters! Both very aggravating and they worry a lot too!"

"That's what we women do best! **Worry**!" I laughed looking around the inside of the chopper. My eyes landed on a photo tapped to the ceiling with a crayon drawing beneath it. Flynn must have caught me glancing at the pictures and smiled softly.

"That's my family!" He called out, reaching up to the picture. He handed it to me, the smile never leaving his face. "My wife Vanessa and my son Brett!"

"They look wonderful!" I handed him back the picture, smiling softly. He nodded his head and put the picture back on the ceiling. I could feel the question forming inside of Flynn as he looked back at me.

"Do you have a family!?" I sighed, knowing the question was going to pop up and shook my head. Flynn looked back out the front window and turned us slightly to the right. "That's too bad!"

I nodded my head, whispering under my breath. I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes, feeling sleep overcome me. It took over six hours to get to out destination. I felt a hand on my left shoulder, shaking me awake gently.

"Van, we're here." I heard Flynn's voice call out to me, shaking me again.

"I'm up..." I gurgled, swatting his hand away and sat up straight against the seat. I slowly unbuckled the seatbelt, taking the time to yawn and stretch afterwards. I hopped down from the chopper and pulled my pack from the back seat, yawning once more.

"Do you know where you're heading to?" Flynn asked, walking around from the other side of the chopper. I thought for a moment and then shook my head slowly. Flynn laughed and reached a hand up to his ear. "Doyle! You read me?"

"Who the hell's Doyle?" I asked to myself, seeing Flynn talk to another man through the earpiece he wore.

"No, no that's were the civilians are being put up." Flynn called back into the earpiece. "I've got an officer with me. Yeah."

I sighed and dropped my pack by the chopper and then leaned back against it, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I forgot about the civilians..." I whispered to myself as I looked down at my boots. Flynn gave a laugh and then looked over at me.

"Yeah, so we'll meet you down by the grocer's." Flynn let his hand drop and walked back over to me. "We're gonna go meet up with my buddy Doyle. He knows where to bring ya."

"Thank you Flynn." I pushed myself off from the chopper and picked up the pack.

"No problem." Flynn smiled, tried to keep a laugh from surfacing.

"What is it?" I asked, suspicious of his look. Flynn shook his head and then went on to explain.

"It's just that I think he's gonna be surprised to see a commanding officer is a woman." Flynn gave a hearty laugh, walking away with his hands in his pockets.

"Why is that so funny!?" I called after him as I followed behind Flynn to the stairs of the building. We slowly descended the countless stairs, feeling tired by the time we reach the bottom. We walked out onto the sidewalk, seeing the city deserted.

"Come on! It's this way!" Flynn called, walking away from me. Slowly, we walked down the sidewalk to the grocer's, no sign of life appearing to us. We stopped in front of the doors to the grocery store, waiting for Doyle to show up.

"It's so much worse than I imagined it..." I whispered, scanning the streets again. Cars lined both sides of the road, empty and the glass broken. Papers blew around while creaks sounded, bouncing off the buildings. Dried blood stained the pavement of the road and sidewalks.

"Yeah, it's a _real_ shit hole." I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice that came from behind me. I quickly shot around and pulled a gun from my hip, pointing it in the direction of the newcomer. The man standing was only five foot nine maybe ten with blue-grey eyes and dirty blonde hair. He looked down at the gun in my hands and laughed as he scanned over me once more.

"Doyle! There you are you son of a bitch." Flynn laughed walking over to Doyle. They shook hands, smiling at one another. I switched the gun to my left and hand and placed the palm of my right against my chest, breathing deeply.

"Hey, are you alright?" Doyle asked, moving away from his friend and over to me.

"Yeah..." I waved at him, signaling I was fine. I placed the gun back into the holster and turned to look at the two men.

"She's just a little...jumpy." Flynn answered for me, grinning. I straightened my posture and scoffed at Flynn.

"I can see that." Doyle smiled, patting Flynn on the pat roughly.

"And Flynn, you're just a little...annoying." I scowled, pushing the hair that had fallen in my face back. I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out a hair tie, quickly putting my hair in a ponytail.

"Alright now?" Doyle asked with a grin on his face.

"Yeah." I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Good. I'm Craig Doyle." He outstretched his hand to me. I took it and shook it for a moment before we took our hands back.

"Officer Brennan." I smiled, looking from Doyle to Flynn. Doyle and Flynn exchanged glances for a moment. "As in Officer **Vanora** Brennan. I swear to God..."

"I knew what you were talking about." Doyle defended himself, looking between me and Flynn. Flynn tried to cover his couple of laughs with a false cough. When Flynn had stopped 'coughing', he looked over at me and then stopped at Doyle. Doyle shook his head for a second and gave him a 'what the hell' sort of look.

"I had a tickle in my throat." Flynn rubbed his throat, a grin spread from ear to ear on his face.

"Are you two like the dynamic duo or something?" I asked sarcastically to the two men. They both looked over at me and kind of gave a nod, looking at each other.

"You could call us that, but we're more like brothers from other mothers." Flynn laughed, patting Doyle on the back.

"Yeah, sure you are." I shook my head not caring to get into it any more than I had and looked at Doyle.

"Do you know where you're taking me?" Doyle's head snapped to me and he thought for a moment before nodding.  
"Yeah, just up to the base that they've got going in District one." Doyle pointed in a direction and I nodded, picking up the pack I had dropped when Doyle had scared me.

"Alright then. Bye Colton!" I called back as I began walking down the sidewalk.

"Bye Colton!" Doyle gave a laugh and gave his friend a pat on the shoulder before jogging off to catch up to me.

"It's Flynn! **Flynn**!" Flynn called out to us, slightly annoyed by the use of his first name. I slowed my pace when I was far enough away from Flynn. Doyle walked up next to me, both of us being quiet as we walked along the deserted road.


	4. No Evidence Left Behind

**[**-Wages Of Sin-**]**

* * *

"So you and Flynn are really close?" I asked as Doyle and I continued our walk down the middle of the road. Doyle looked over at me, fixing his rifle on his shoulder, and then looked back down at the road ahead of us.

"That's usually what happens when you've known each other for a while." Doyle gave a small laugh, rubbing underneath his nose. I looked up at the sky.

"Wow, thanks for that little lesson on human relations Professor." I smiled, looking back over at him. He smiled softly and gave a small head nod. "How long have you known each other?"

"Um, six years. Give or take." He spoke kind of down trodden as he kept his eyes away from me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, beginning to walk slower. He stopped in the road and looked over at me, shaking his head.

"Nothing. Why?" I stared at him a moment longer, not believing his answer. I shook my head, seeing something in his expression change.

"I hate to sound like a total girl here, but you can tell me what's wrong." I urged, crossing my arms over my chest as I kept my gaze on him. He looked between my eyes and then down at his boots.

"You don't sound like a total girl." He gave a small half laugh. "It's just..."

"Just what?" I asked, taking a step closer to him. He looked back up at me and stuttered for a moment with what he wanted to say. He took a deep breath and looked away from me, down the street we had just come from.

"Just...it doesn't..." He stuttered again and took to growling at himself. He rubbed his lips and scoffed letting his hand drop. My eyes narrowed at him, curious as to what he was trying to tell me. A thought shot through my head as I watched him; nervous and anxious.

"...you feel it too." I announced, my eyes becoming wider at the man. "You feel like something's wrong, but you just don't know what exactly."

"Yeah...How do you...?" He looked back at me, his eyes slightly wide at finding I had the same feeling as him. I shook my head, my mouth continuing to go off.

"You feel like it's not completely over yet. The infection. It's sort of an in your face irony." I nodded my head and gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of my neck after realizing I had gone off. We stood there at a crossroads, neither of us looking at the other.

"That's exactly how I feel." Doyle admitted after several moments of silence. I looked up at him, my eyes soft. Doyle looked up at me. "Isn't this were someone says everything's going to be just fine."

"Yeah, except I don't know if it will be and neither do you." I whispered giving him a ghost of a smile. He nodded his head and fixed the rifle on his shoulder.

"We should keep going." I nodded my head and began walking down the street, Doyle following slightly behind me.

We soon found ourselves at a bridge. Doyle was talking to one of the men, telling him where we were heading to. I walked to the rail, that kept people from falling into the water down below, and looked across it at District one where the civilians had been brought too.

"Vanora!" I looked over to my right where Doyle was in front of the guards to the bridge gate, waving me over to him. I jogged over to him and watched as the guards moved the barriers, letting us pass. We walked down the bridge, a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"You know you can call me V or Van for short. Everyone does. It's completely fine with me." I finally spoke out, looking a Doyle. He glanced over at me and laughed, before looking back in front of him.

"I like Vanora much better." He gave another laugh and walked a little faster, leaving me to think about that for a moment. I caught up with him at the end of the bridge, still unknowing of what he meant by liking Vanora better. We walked into the city and instantly it felt more like a city. People and soldiers were out walking around, in and out of building; talking, laughing, and smiling with each other.

"This looks more like a city." I whispered to myself, watching everyone act like nothing had happened. Doyle placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a single gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, this is about as good as it's gonna get around here for now." Doyle began walking down the sidewalk, looking around the streets. I took another look and then ran to catch up with him. "What got you started in this?"

"Started in what?" I asked dumbfounded by the question. Doyle looked over at me for a moment and then looked up to the rooftop of the building that we had walked in front of. A soldier stood on top of it holding a sniper rifle in his arms, waving down at Doyle.

"What got you started in the whole army scene?" Doyle looked back from his friend to me. I shrugged and we continued to walk, slower than before.

"I guess a major part of that is because of my father really." I looked up at the top of the buildings, not really looking, but thinking back on my father. "He was a general and always talked about how the most rewarding thing in life is being part of the U.S. army."

"Oh, yes blowing things up and shooting people is _really_ rewarding." Doyle scoffed, shaking his head. I looked over at him a soft smile on my lips.

"That's exactly what I said to him," I bit on my bottom lips and shook my head to myself, "But after I lost my little brother, Kevin, because of war I vowed I wouldn't let the same thing happen to my older brother, Shawn."

"And so you joined the Marines to watch over him." Doyle finished my thought for me, nodding his head as though he understood my reasoning. I nodded my head and looked away from him, down at my boots that thumped against the tar of the roads.

"Why did you join?" I asked, carefully tiptoeing around the subject, not knowing what might set Doyle off. He gave a shrug as I had and looked over at me.

"Seemed like the best plan of action at the time. I was 18 and just out of high school with no idea of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life." I nodded towards him, understanding his answer perfectly.

"Kevin had the same plan." I gave a small laugh remembering my little brother. "The only idea of what he wanted to do was that he wanted to help people. Didn't have to be big, but just help them in any way he could."

"Seems like he was a really good guy; big heart." Doyle gave a small laugh, slightly out of his element. I gave a laugh and put my hands into my pockets, shrugging.

"He was but he was also the biggest pain in the ass, always getting himself into some kind of trouble with someone dangerous...But when I heard that he was gone..." I turned my attention back down at the road beneath my feet, shaking my head. I felt a lump in my throat and tried to swallow it. "When I heard he was gone it didn't matter anymore about what he had done in the past because I realized that I would never get to see what he would do in the future."

"Sounds like you and your family must really miss him." Doyle looked over at me again, giving me a small smile. I nodded, smiling myself and looked back in front of us at the large building with mirrored glass. "That's where the civilians are being put up."

"No...That's not a good idea." I shook my head examining the building and surrounding area.

"Why not? You want them to sleep in the streets?" Doyle laughed, taking the gun from his shoulder to lean on it. I shook my head.

"No, but that building is closed in by the other buildings. If something were to happen there's only one way for everyone to go." I looked up at the rooftops of the buildings and spotted, one, three, five snipers standing there with rifles. I looked back around the street and spotted two machine guns behind a barricade of sand bags, pointed at the front doors of the building. "It's a fail safe..."

"What?" Doyle looked over me from scanning over the building that was enclosed within the city.

"A fail safe, like a 'touch and go' or a 'scapegoat'. If the infection came back everyone in the building would come out through those doors," I pointed to the front doors of the building, shaking my head. Realization set in on me of what would happen as I saw the whole thing run through my head, "and the snipers and machine gunners would have a clear shot at everything and everyone that came out."

"They wouldn't order us to shoot at everyone. Only the infected." Doyle laughed, feeling slightly nervous at the situation. I shook my head a sarcastic smile spreading across my lips.

"No, they _would_ order you to shoot everyone." I nodded my head, giving a scoff at the idea. I looked over at him, our eyes locking for a brief moment. "If they lost control they would want **no evidence** left behind."


End file.
